New Life on Stewart Island

Hookers & Dolphins Pregnant Hookers Sealion Yesterday on Ulva Island with guests we discovered a female Hookers Sealion sunning herself on Boulder Beach. There have been quite a few males around lately, but this is the first female we have seen in some considerable time. Females are much lighter coloured than males, although very young…

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Te Anau, with Dock Bay Lodge

The Year Flies By I cannot believe it is November already, where has the year gone ??. Te Anau in the News As you may know Te Anau has been in the news lately for a number of reasons, first we fought off a private venture company who wanted to put a tunnel through the…

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A Spring Tour on Ulva Island

Visiting Ulva Island with Guests (At Sails Ashore we package a 4 hour Guided Ulva Island Tour for our guests. Ulva Island Open Sanctuary is a “Must Do” for visitors to Stewart Island. Many years ago I was Ranger in Charge for all of Stewart Island. For a brief introduction to this very special Island…

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Kaikoura Spring with Fyffe Country Lodge

Spring is Busy Busy for Kaikoura and Surrounds…….. So much activity….. The Hop Our region starts off with the Kaikoura Hop usually around the 24th September. This is great for car enthusiasts and the event attract approximately 700 car entries. The town just buzzes. Entries are from all over New Zealand and already I understand…

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Rimu Lodge….. West Coast

Haast Highway An update on the Haast Pass Highway 6 slip for the South Island properties sending guests up the West coast.  The road has been open 93% of the last 15 days October 2 to October 17.  This is having devastating consequences for tourism operators both on the coast and in Wanaka. There have…

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Dunedin’s Rhododendrons

Dunedins Rhododendrons Every year in October the City of Dunedin celebrates one of New Zealand’s loveliest sights – the exotic beauty of the City’s Rhododendrons. Here a fortuitous partnership of soil and climate combine to give one of the finest Rhododendron growing areas in the world, thus earning Dunedin the description of Rhododendron City. Originating…

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Southern Wild Food and Old Cars

Wild Food Event for Southern Region Early Ford V8 Club On the 10th August 2013 Ray and I held a ‘Wild Food Competition’ for the Southern Regional Early Ford V8 club of America. We created our own gourmet sausages from Wild Duck, Rabbit, Hare and Venison which Ray had personally shot and prepared. We served…

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Dry Spring on Stewart Island

Dry Spring Since we put the new water tank in place….. and pumped it full from our existing storage we’ve had very little rain. So much so that Iris has been watering her new vegetable plantings for several days after sowing. Most unusual, especially this time of year. A wry comment on our normal rain fall…

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Dunedin Spring

Great Winter…. Better Spring After a fantastic winter, we are now experiencing a glorious Dunedin Spring. The Azaleas look particularly beautiful this year, the Daffodils have come out and the Tulips are also now emerging. There is so much work to do in the house and garden at this time of year and I have been spending…

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Greetings from Glorious Franz Josef Glacier.

Spring WELCOME to Spring in New Zealand. The changeable landscape is changing again and we are inspired by this Haiku composed by Lynne Hopkinson, Mount Hope, Ontario (Canada). Lynne explored NZ in springtime 2012 and has graciously shared her Haiku with her hosts and now with all of you. winter slowly passed  the land of…

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